Manually operable air blower



Dec. 22, 1964 A. J. PALMER ETAL 3,162,371

MANUALLY OPERABLE AIR BLOWER Filed Dec. 20, 1963 INVENTORS Anthony J. Palmer 8 Robert Lee Palmer United States Patent Office 3,162,371 Patented Dec. 22, 1964 3,162,371 MANUALLY OPERABLE AIR BLOWER Anthony J. Palmer and Robert Lee Palmer, Grove City, Pa., assignors to Palmer Products Co. Filed Dec. 20, 1963, Ser. No. 332,072 3 Claims. (Cl. 239327) This invention relates broadly to air blowers and more particularly to a manually operated air blower useful in beauty parlors and barber shops for removing hair clippings from persons having their hair cut.

It is well known that various diseases and infections can be transferred from one customer to another in hair dressing establishments where the operator through carelessness or indifference uses the same instruments on one customer as he did on another without sterilizing them. Extensive care is taken by responsible operators to insure that sterile instruments are used on each customer and that the skin or hair of no customer is touched or handled with any instrument or equipment that has touched another person without having been sterilized or without some fresh protective cover being used. Thus, fresh protective paper neck bands are used with each customer, combs and scissors are stored in disinfectant and fresh paper covers are used on head rests and so forth.

The old long bristled barbers hair brush, once so familiar in such shops has passed from the scene and for the most part clean towels are used today to brush away hair clippings. 7

Many operators have learned however that it is very difficult to brush away hair clippings and particularly the fine or small clipping with a towel and in someshops it is to be noted that operators have returned to the venerable barber brushes. Some shops have resorted to vacuum cleaner type machines for hair clipping removal, which actually is a step backward because these cleaners necessarily touch the customer and it is diificult or impractical to sterilize it between customers. Also there have appeared air brushes which utilize compressed air to blow away hair clippings. These have not met with much acceptance because of the expense of the compressor equipment and, too, because some customers object to the violence of the air stream produced by such machines.

Applicants provide a manually operated air blower which operates somewhat like a bellows. Applicants air blower has an axially collapsible side wall of a generally cylindrical corrugated configuration joined at each end by axially spaced end walls. The air blower is unitarily formed of a flexible resilient air-impervious material such as medium density polyethylene plastic. One end wall of the air blower has a nozzle-like portion with an aperture therein for the passage of air therethrough, the interior of the air blower otherwise being completely enclosed. The side wall of the air blower offers relatively moderate resistance to the collapsing thereof and is self-expanding to its original shape from any collapsed position.

Preferably said nozzle-like portion extends outwardly from its end wall and the aperture therein is disposed at a position angular to the axis of said end walls. Applicants also preferably provide that the end walls are somewhat depressed into the respective ends of said side wall to form an annular grip flange portion at both ends of the blower. Applicants further provide that the axial length of the blower be such that the blower is easily manipulatable with one hand, such length being on the order of from about two to about four inches and preferably about three inches.

It will be understood that applicants air blower not only may be readily operated with one hand and is relatively very modest in initial cost and cost free in operation, but also, and foremost, is completely sanitary as it does not touch the customer in any way.

The size and configuration of applicants air blower makes it very easy to handle with one hand. The flexi bility of the material permits the operator to easily collapse the air blower and the springiness or resilience of the material quickly returns the air blower to its original extended position so that the operator can manipulate the air blower to deliver quick short bursts of air to dislodge and blow away hair clippings, limited only by the rapidity with which the operator can open and close his hand. The air so delivered is not of objectionable pressure or violence and in fact is quite pleasant to the customer. Uppermost, however, applicants air blower does the job in a completely sanitary manner.

Other details, objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description of a present preferred embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings we have shown a present preferred embodiment of the invention in which FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of the air blower as viewed from the front;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line IIII of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the air blowen,

Referring to the drawing, we provide a side wall 10 which is cylindrical and corrugated in the nature of a bellows. Side wall 10 is closed at its ends by end walls 11 and 12. In end 12 is disposed a nozzle portion 14 which has an aperture 15 therein connecting with the interior of the air blower for the passage of air there through. As is clearly'shown, the interior of the air blower is completely enclosed except for aperture 15. The air blower is unitarily formed of a flexible, resilient, air-impervious material such as polyethylene plastic of medium density whereby side wall 10 may be readily collapsed or compressed with moderate effort and will immediately by itself spring back to its original extended posit-ion with the air passing in and out of the interior of the air blower through aperture 15 accordingly.

It should be noted that nozzle portion 14 is raised or extended from end wall 12 so that aperture 15 is disposed at an angle from the imaginary axis of the blower. The angle as shown dispenses the air at about from 30 to 60 degrees from the vertical axis which we have found to be the most convenient angle for aiming the air blower during manipulation of it.

The length of the air blower should be such that it fits comfortably in the operators hand and can be easily operated with one hand. We have found that a side wall length of about 3 inches is quite comfortable and manipulatable for the average operator, although it would be possible to operate the air blower with reasonable comfort and ease with a smaller side wall length of about 2 inches or a larger side wall length of about 4 inches, which more or less depends on the size of the operators hand.

For additional convenience and ease of operation, we further provide that end walls 11 and 12 be somewhat depressed within the respective ends of side wall 10 whereby annular grip flange portions 16 and 17 are formed therein respectively at the ends. It will be understood that flange portions 16 and 17 facilitate the gripping of the air blower for certainty and ease of operation.

Aperture 15 should be of a size and shape small enough that it causes the air to issue in a stream at a sufiicient velocity to readily lift hair clippings, for example, from a persons neck, yet large enough that air may readily reenter the interior so that the air blowers self- 3, 7 return to extended position is not impeded. Wehave found that with an air blower having from about a 24 to 30 cubic inch interior and in particular about a 27 cubic inch interior that a nozzle opening of about .031,

sfiftiafej inch (approximately Mi inchzwiil'e'and inch lii'ghfor' example) is admirably suitable and that the opening shouldfp'refe'rablybe of uneven'dinrension such as ovoid or rectangular toqimp'a rtfl a fan shape to the stream? of air blown for better" blowing; coverage. "Poismaller 'fiiteriors' theopening areawou'ld be. slightlyale creased and "for larger interiors; slighfly increased.

To operatejth'e airblower; theoperator places. a fingeron each side of nozzte portion' I4 inth depressions.

formed on either: side thereofin fend .wallf1 22'anid his thurhb ini'the depressed end QUI flbn"11 and then'quickly squeezes the air' 'blo'w'e'r to collapse and compress side wall It} ail-d1 force the air from theiinteriojrthereof in a quiclgj bur'sjt', Upon releasingtheupressure ofhis fing'efsgth opefatofjperinitsthe springiness or "resilience of the sidewall 10 to exert itself and extend side wall 20 lftto'its original unc'ollapsed position, which'response is immediate and about as fast as the operator can open his hand. While applying and releasing the hand pres' sure to the air hlowerto produce the air bursts, the o erator, ofco'ursqis aiming the nozzle at .thehair clipfiings he wishes to rem'o've'and it is readily apparentthat thereis neither any need'nor desire totouchlthecustorhe'rs' person with the nozzle or anylpa'rt of the airs blower. v i j e e Whiie'we have shown and described a present referred embodiment of. the. invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is'not limited thereto but mayfollowing claims. y

We claim: 7 I a j 1'. 'Ainanually operable air blower com rising an axi-. ally "collapsible side "wall of a generally cylindrical cor be otherwise variously embodied within the sc e. of the rtigated configuration joined at each end by axially spaced end walls; said blower being unitarily formed of a flexie -.L .riPP 12 f i? 9 s m each side =-o said" nozzle portion, said aperture being ible resilient air-impervious material, said side wall offering relatively moderate resistance to m-anualcollapsing thereof in a direction along the, axis of said side 7 wall and being self-expanding to its normal expanded position upon release frornganwdegree of said manual collapsing, ofsaid' nd wall aviing an v l P tio'n'swith an aperture forthepassage of airitherethrough,

the interior space. of said air blower. otherwise being completely enclosed, said nqzz-le portion being generally rec- .tangular and rising"from-"said "end wall and bisecting I said end wall and laeingwsuflieiently narrow to allow space adjacent eaehsiqe thereDfonsaid end wall for finn's'a-i ljendwall on glisposed at one end ofsaid'nozzlportionadjacent said sidewall at an angle to the axis ot'said sidewall.

2 A manually operable air blo'wer as claimed in claim 1 wherein said' aperture is disposed radially outwardly at'an angle or; from 3 01060 degrees" relative to the axis of said side wall and is of'non circular shape being' generally wider mouthed "thanut'ishigh whereby a fan- 7 7 like jet-of is form'etl 'when air is propelled therefrom.

3;. A rnatiually operable air "blower'as claimed in claim l wherein theendfof'saidnozzle POItjOIlCOHtaiIllIlg said WALTERIA; Primary Examiner. 

1. A MANUALLY OPERABLE AIR BLOWER COMPRISING AN AXIALLY COLLAPSIBLE SIDE WALL OF A GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL CORRUGATED CONFIGURATION JOINED AT EACH END BY AXIALLY SPACED END WALLS, SAID BLOWER BEING UNITARILY FORMED OF A FLEXIBLE RESILIENT AIR-IMPERVIOUS MATERIAL, SAID SIDE WALL OFFERING RELATIVELY MODERATE RESISTANCE TO MANUAL COLLAPSING THEREOF IN A DIRECTION ALONG THE AXIS OF SAID SIDE WALL AND BEING SELF-EXPANDING TO ITS NORMAL EXPANDED POSITION UPON RELEASE FROM ANY DEGREE OF SAID MANUAL COLLAPSING, ONE OF SAID END WALLS HAVING A NOZZLE PORTION WITH AN APERTURE FOR THE PASSAGE OF AIR THERETHROUGH, THE INTERIOR SPACE OF SAID AIR BLOWER OTHERWISE BEING COMPLETELY ENCLOSED, SAID NOZZLE PORTION BEING GENERALLY RECTANGULAR AND RISING FROM SAID END WALL AND BISECTING SAID END WALL AND BEING SUFFICIENTLY NARROW TO ALLOW SPACE ADJACENT EACH SIDE THEREOF ON SAID END WALL FOR FINGER GRIPPING DEPRESSIONS DISPOSED IN SAID END WALL ON EACH SIDE OF SAID NOZZLE PORTION, SAID APERTURE BEING DISPOSED AT ONE END OF SAID NOZZLE PORTION ADJACENT SAID SIDE WALL AT AN ANGLE TO THE AXIS OF SAID SIDE WALL. 